The toy industry generates a voluminous array of toy vehicles annually, including toy motorcycles, cars, trucks, racing vehicles, three wheelers, tanks, pickups, military and space vehicles, construction vehicles and the like. The trend has been to "imitate" real vehicles or to create futuristic toys which capture the imagination.
Toy vehicles are known which have a member which is capable of moving downwardly toward a support surface and contacting the support surface. In response to contact of the member with the support surface, the toy vehicle is raised or otherwise moved with respect to the support surface. Typically, the contact member causes rotation of the vehicle about the center of rotation of one of its axles to lift up either the front or the back end of the vehicle. Other known toy vehicles locate the member to one side or the other of the vehicle such that upon contact of the member with the support surface one side or other of the vehicle is elevated with respect to the other side to essentially tip the vehicle sideways.
Some of the vehicles noted in the previous paragraph are capable of being completely flipped over such that they roll about portions of their outer body doing somersault-like moves. For the most part, the vehicles which are capable of rolling utilize a member which contacts a support surface and then, in a controlled manner, is further extended from the vehicle to slowly roll the vehicle on the support surface. A number of other vehicles, however, utilize a member which is violently or very rapidly thrust towards the support surface such that the vehicle very dramatically is flipped or upset.
Toy manufacturers are always looking for new actions to make toys unusual and enhance their entertainment value, and it is believed a new flip-over action in a toy vehicle would be desirable.